JP2017057872A - Automatic clutch device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To promote the size reduction and the improvement of the responsiveness of an automatic clutch which performs the connection and disconnection of power from an engine with respect to an input shaft of a transmission by a release bearing.SOLUTION: In an automatic clutch device which pressurizes a release bearing 30 and moves it to a diaphragm spring 19 by using an axial force generation mechanism 40, and releases the connection of a flywheel 13 and a clutch disc 16, the axial force generation mechanism 40 is formed of an electric motor 41 which is arranged at an external periphery of an axial end of an input shaft 12 of a transmission 11, and a rotation/linear motion converting mechanism 50 which converts a rotational motion of a rotor of the electric motor 41 into a linear motion of the release bearing 30. The rotation/linear motion converting mechanism 50 is formed of a nut member which is driven by the electric motor 41, and rotates with the input shaft 12 as a center, and a male screw member which is engaged with the nut member, moves to an axial direction by the rotation of the nut member, and presses the release bearing 30, thus promoting the size reduction and the improvement of the responsiveness of the automatic clutch device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic clutch device for intermittently transmitting power output from a crankshaft of an engine to an input shaft of a transmission.

  As an automatic clutch device for automatically engaging and disengaging a clutch in a manual transmission (MT) or an automated manual transmission (AMT), those described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are conventionally known.

  In the automatic clutch device described in Patent Document 1, when a clutch pedal is depressed, a master cylinder mechanically connected to the clutch pedal generates hydraulic pressure, and the hydraulic pressure is sent to the clutch release cylinder. The release fork is swung to press the release bearing, and the pressure plate is brought into pressure contact with the flywheel by the pressing force applied to the pressure plate from the release bearing, so that the clutch is engaged.

  On the other hand, in the automatic clutch device described in Patent Document 2, as in Patent Document 1, the clutch master cylinder is operated by depressing the clutch pedal to generate hydraulic pressure, and the hydraulic pressure is sent to the clutch release cylinder. The release fork is swung by the release cylinder, and the release bearing is pressed by the release fork to disengage the clutch.

JP 2010-78156 A JP 2014-202238 A

  By the way, since both of the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 and 2 are for engaging and disengaging the clutch by swinging the release fork by the operation of the clutch release cylinder, the size of the automatic clutch device is increased, and a hydraulic pump is required. Since it is necessary to connect the hydraulic pump and the clutch release cylinder by a pipe line, there is a disadvantage that a large space must be secured for assembly.

  In addition, the hydraulic pressure for operating the clutch release cylinder has a disadvantage that the viscosity of the oil becomes high at low temperatures, the fluidity in the hydraulic line is deteriorated, and the response of the clutch release cylinder is lowered.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to reduce the size and improve the responsiveness of an automatic clutch device that interrupts power from an engine to an input shaft of a transmission by applying a pushing force to a release bearing.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, the flywheel attached to the shaft end portion of the crankshaft of the engine and the shaft end portion of the input shaft of the transmission are arranged opposite to the flyhole. A clutch disk, a pressure plate for urging the clutch disk toward the flywheel, a release bearing provided so as to be movable forward and backward with respect to the pressure plate, and a pressure movement of the release bearing toward the pressure plate And an axial force generating mechanism that presses a pressure plate by the release bearing to release the clutch coupling between the flywheel and the clutch disk. The rotational movement of the motor and the rotor of the electric motor A rotary / linear motion conversion mechanism for converting into a linear motion of the receiver, and the rotational / linear motion conversion mechanism is provided on the input shaft and is rotationally driven by the electric motor. A cylindrical male screw having a nut member and a male screw threadedly engaged with a female screw formed on the inner periphery of the nut member, and moving in the axial direction by the rotation of the nut member to press the release bearing A reverse input blocking mechanism is provided between the electric motor and the nut member to enable rotation transmission from the electric motor to the nut member and to block reverse input from the nut member.

  In the automatic clutch device having the above-described configuration, when the electric motor is stopped, the clutch disk is pressed against the flywheel by the elastic force of the pressure plate, and the clutch is engaged. Input to the input shaft.

  When the electric motor is driven, the rotation of the rotor of the electric motor is input to the nut member, and the nut member rotates. At this time, since the male screw member is screw-engaged with the nut member, the male screw member moves in the axial direction by the rotation of the nut member and presses the Leeds bearing.

  The release bearing moves in the axial direction by pressing the male screw member and presses the pressure plate. The pressure plate elastically deforms by the pressing to release the clutch disk, and the clutch disk is released from the flywheel by releasing the pressure contact of the clutch disk. Is turned off, and power transmission from the crankshaft to the input shaft is interrupted.

  As described above, since the clutch is engaged and disengaged by controlling the operation by driving and stopping the electric motor, the power output from the crankshaft can be intermittently connected to the input shaft.

  Here, the rotation / linear motion conversion mechanism for converting the rotational motion of the rotor of the electric motor into the linear motion is a nut member and a male screw member screw-engaged with the nut member, and the nut member and the male screw member. Each of these is provided on the input shaft, and an electric motor is provided around the nut member, so that a small automatic clutch device can be obtained, and since the electric motor is used as a drive source, There is no need to secure a large installation space because it only needs to be handled.

  In addition, the driving of the electric motor can be quickly controlled without being influenced by changes in the surrounding environment such as temperature changes, and an automatic clutch device having excellent responsiveness can be obtained.

  In the automatic clutch device according to the present invention, the electric motor may be disposed perpendicular to the input shaft, or may be disposed parallel to the input shaft.

  When the electric motor is arranged perpendicular to the input shaft, the rotation of the rotor is input to the nut member via the worm and the worm wheel. At this time, the worm and the worm wheel exhibit a function as a reverse input blocking mechanism that blocks a reverse input from the nut member side, in addition to a function as a rotation transmission mechanism that transmits the rotation of the rotor of the electric motor to the nut member. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide a reverse input blocking mechanism, and the automatic clutch device can be further downsized.

  When the electric motor is arranged in parallel with the input shaft, the rotation of the rotor is input to the nut member via a pair of spur gears that mesh with each other. In this case, a reverse input cutoff clutch is employed as the reverse input cutoff mechanism, and the reverse input cutoff clutch is incorporated between the gear shaft of the input side spur gear and the rotor of the electric motor to block reverse input from the nut member side.

  When a rotation transmission mechanism comprising a worm and a worm wheel is employed, a reverse input cutoff clutch is incorporated between the gear shaft provided on the worm and the rotor of the electric motor to enhance the reverse input cutoff effect. Good.

  In the present invention, as described above, the rotation of the electric motor is converted into the linear motion of the release bearing by the rotation / linear motion conversion mechanism formed by the nut member and the male screw member provided on the input shaft, and thus the pressure is converted. Since the plate is pressed, it is necessary to secure a large installation space compared to the conventional automatic clutch device in which the release fork is swung by the clutch release cylinder and the release bearing is moved toward the pressure plate. It is possible to obtain a small-sized automatic clutch device without the above.

  In addition, since the drive of the electric motor as a drive source is controlled by a switch operation, the operation is not affected by changes in the surrounding environment such as a temperature change, and thus an automatic clutch device with excellent responsiveness Can be obtained.

  Furthermore, the reverse input from the release bearing side is blocked by providing a reverse input blocking mechanism that inputs the rotation of the electric motor to the nut member and blocks the reverse input from the nut member between the electric motor and the nut member. And the automatic clutch device can be reliably held in the clutch disengaged state.

Sectional drawing which shows embodiment of the automatic clutch apparatus which concerns on this invention Sectional drawing which expands and shows the release bearing part of FIG. Sectional view along line III-III in FIG. Sectional drawing which shows other embodiment of the automatic clutch apparatus which concerns on this invention (A) is sectional drawing which shows a reverse input interruption | blocking mechanism, (b) is sectional drawing along the VV line of (a).

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the crankshaft 10 of the engine and the input shaft 12 in the parallel shaft gear type transmission 11 are arranged coaxially.

  A flywheel 13 is fixed to the shaft end of the crankshaft 10 with respect to the input shaft 12, and the flywheel 13 is rotatable in a clutch housing 14 provided in the transmission 11.

  A clutch cover 15 is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the outer surface facing the transmission 11 in the flywheel 13, and a clutch disk 16 is incorporated in the clutch cover 15.

  A facing 17 is fixed to the outer peripheral portion of the surface of the clutch disk 16 facing the flywheel 13. The clutch disk 16 is fitted to a serration 18 formed on the outer periphery of the shaft end portion of the input shaft 12 to be prevented from rotating, and is slidable in the axial direction.

  A pressure plate 19 is incorporated in the clutch cover 15. The pressure plate 19 is made of a diaphragm spring. The diaphragm spring 19 has an annular shape, and a plurality of slots 20 are formed radially on the inner periphery thereof, and spring pieces 21 are provided between adjacent slots 20.

  In the diaphragm spring 19, a plurality of pin holes 22 are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction between a circumscribed circle passing through the closed end of the slot 20 and the outer diameter surface, and support pins 23 inserted into the pin holes 22 with a margin. Is attached to the clutch cover 15.

  Around the support pins 23, a pair of rings 24 are spanned on both sides of the diaphragm spring 19, and the diaphragm spring 19 is supported by the pair of rings 24 and the support pins 23.

  The diaphragm spring 19 presses a projection 25 provided on the outer peripheral portion of the clutch disk 16 toward the flywheel 13 to press the facing 17 against the flywheel 13, and the inner periphery of the diaphragm spring 19 flies. By pushing toward the wheel 13, the pressure contact of the facing 17 against the flywheel 13 is released, and the clutch is disengaged.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the clutch housing 14 is provided with a guide cylinder 26 that covers the input shaft 12, and a sleeve 27 is fitted to the outside of the guide cylinder 26. A key 28 is provided on the inner periphery of the sleeve 27, and the key 28 is fitted into a key groove 29 formed on the outer periphery of the guide tube 26, so that the sleeve 27 is prevented from rotating and is slidably supported. Yes.

  A release bearing 30 is provided on the outer periphery of the sleeve 27. The release bearing 30 includes an outer ring 31, an inner ring 32, and a ball 33, and the inner ring 32 is connected to the inner peripheral portion of the diaphragm spring 19.

  The release bearing 30 is pressed toward the diaphragm spring 19 by an axial force generation mechanism 40 provided on the outer periphery of the guide cylinder 26.

  The axial force generation mechanism 40 includes an electric motor 41 and a rotation / linear motion conversion mechanism 50 that converts the rotation of the rotor 42 of the electric motor 41 into the linear motion of the release bearing 30.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the electric motor 41 has a rotor 42 as a solid shaft. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the electric motor 41 is arranged orthogonal to the input shaft 12, and the rotation of the rotor 42 of the electric motor 41 is performed via a rotation transmission mechanism 44 including a worm 45 and a worm wheel 46. This is input to the rotation / linear motion conversion mechanism 50.

  The rotation / linear motion conversion mechanism 50 includes a cylindrical nut member 51 and a male screw member 53 having a male screw 54 on its outer periphery that engages with a female screw 52 formed on the inner periphery of the nut member 51.

  The nut member 51 is disposed coaxially with the input shaft 12 and is rotatably supported by a bearing 56 in a recess 55 formed at the closed end of the clutch housing 14, and a worm wheel 46 is provided on the outer periphery thereof. The rotation of the rotor 42 of the electric motor 41 is input integrally.

  The male screw member 53 has a cylindrical shape and is disposed outside the guide cylinder 26 and is connected to the sleeve 27 and the outer ring 31 of the release bearing 30. At this time, since the sleeve 27 is prevented from rotating with respect to the guide tube 26 by the key 28 and the key groove 29 as described above, the male screw member 53 is also prevented from rotating around the guide tube 26 and is movable in the axial direction. It is said.

  In the rotation / linear motion conversion mechanism 50 configured as described above, when the rotor 42 is rotated by driving the electric motor 41, the rotation is input to the nut member 51, the nut member 51 is rotated, and the nut member 51 is screwed. The engaging male screw member 53 moves in the axial direction to press the release bearing 30, and the rotation of the rotor 42 of the electric motor 41 is converted into a linear motion of the release bearing 30.

  The automatic clutch device shown in the embodiment has the above structure, and FIG. 1 shows a state in which the clutch disk 16 is pressed against the flywheel 13 by the diaphragm spring 19 and the clutch is engaged. For this reason, when the crankshaft 10 rotates, the rotation is transmitted to the input shaft 12, and the input shaft 12 rotates in the same direction as the crankshaft 10.

  When the electric motor 41 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is driven to rotate the rotor 42 in the engaged state of the clutch, the rotation of the rotor 42 is transmitted to the nut member 51 via the worm 45 and the worm wheel 46, and the nut 42 The member 51 rotates.

  At this time, since the male screw member 53 is screw-engaged with the nut member 51 and the male screw member 53 is prevented from rotating around the guide tube 26 via the sleeve 27, the male screw member 53 is axially rotated by the rotation of the nut member 51. To release the bearing 30. Due to the pressing, the release bearing 30 moves in the axial direction and presses the inner peripheral portion of the diaphragm spring 19 toward the clutch disc 16, so that the pressing of the clutch disc 16 against the flywheel 13 is released, and the clutch is disengaged. Is done. Therefore, power transmission from the crankshaft 10 to the input shaft 12 shown in FIG. 1 is interrupted.

  When the clutch is disengaged, the release bearing 30 is pressed in the axial direction by the reaction force of the diaphragm spring 19, and a reverse input is loaded from the release bearing 30. At this time, the rotation transmission mechanism 44 that transmits the rotation of the rotor 42 of the electric motor 41 to the nut member 51 includes the worm 45 and the worm wheel 46, and the worm 45 and the worm wheel 46 have a reverse input blocking function. The reverse input from the release bearing 30 is interrupted at the meshing portion of the worm 45 and the worm wheel 46, and the automatic clutch device is held in the clutch released state.

  In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the rotation of the electric motor 41 is converted into the linear motion of the release bearing 30 by the rotation / linear motion conversion mechanism 50 formed by the nut member 51 and the male screw member 53. Since the diaphragm spring 19 is pressed and the clutch is disengaged, the nut member 51 and the male screw member 53 forming the rotation / linear motion conversion mechanism 50 are incorporated on the input shaft 12, and thus are small in size. The automatic clutch device can be obtained. In addition, since the electric motor 41 is used as a drive source, it is only necessary to carry out wiring when assembling, so it is not necessary to secure a large installation space.

  In addition, the driving of the electric motor 41 can be quickly controlled without being influenced by changes in the surrounding environment such as temperature changes, and an automatic clutch device having excellent responsiveness can be obtained.

  In FIG. 3, the electric motor 41 is arranged perpendicular to the input shaft 12, but the electric motor 41 may be arranged parallel to the input shaft 12 as shown in FIG. 4. In this case, the rotation of the electric motor 41 is input to the nut member 51 via spur gears 47 and 48 that mesh with each other.

  In the automatic clutch device shown in FIG. 4, a reverse input cutoff clutch 60 as a reverse input cutoff mechanism is incorporated between the rotor of the electric motor 41 and the gear shaft 47 a of the input side spur gear 47, and the reverse input from the release bearing 30. Is shut off.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the reverse input cutoff clutch 60 is a cylindrical clutch outer ring 62 by a bearing 61 fitted to both the rotor 42 and the gear shaft 47 a of the electric motor 41. The gear shaft 47a is provided with a clutch inner ring 63 that can rotate within the clutch outer ring 62, and a pair of inclined surfaces 64a that are inclined in opposite directions on the outer periphery of the clutch inner ring 63. A plurality of cam surfaces 64 formed of 64b are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction.

  A retainer 65 that can rotate between the clutch outer ring 62 and the clutch inner ring 63 is provided at the end of the rotor 42 of the electric motor 41, and the retainer 65 has a plurality of cam surfaces 64 formed on the clutch inner ring 63. Pockets 66 are provided at positions facing each other, a pair of rollers 67 in each pocket 66 and an elastic member 68 are incorporated between the rollers 67, and the pair of rollers 67 are connected to the cylindrical inner surface 69 and the cam surface of the clutch outer ring 62. It is urging in the direction to engage with 64.

  Further, a radial groove 70 is formed on the end face of the clutch inner ring 63, and a torque transmission pin 71 is provided on the end face of the rotor 42 to be inserted into the radial groove 70 with a margin.

  In the reverse input cutoff clutch 60 having the above-described configuration, when the rotor 42 is rotated by the drive of the electric motor 41 in a use state where the clutch outer ring 62 is fixed, the retainer 65 rotates together with the rotor 42, The end surface of the pocket 66 on the rear side in the rotation direction presses the roller 67 on the front side in the rotation direction to release the engagement between the cylindrical inner surface 69 and the cam surface 64. After the disengagement, the torque transmission pin 71 contacts and presses one side surface of the radial groove 70, and the rotation of the rotor 42 is transmitted to the gear shaft 47a. Input to the nut member 51 of the dynamic motion conversion mechanism 50.

  For this reason, when reverse input is applied to the gear shaft 47a from the release bearing 30 shown in FIG. 4, the reverse input is blocked by the roller 67 in the engaged state, and the rotation / linear motion conversion mechanism 50 shown in FIG. Will not work.

  The reverse input cutoff clutch 60 as described above can also be employed when the electric motor 41 is disposed orthogonal to the input shaft 12 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. By adopting 60, the blocking effect of reverse input can be enhanced.

10 Crankshaft 11 Transmission 12 Input shaft 13 Flywheel 16 Clutch disc 19 Diaphragm spring (pressure plate)
30 Release bearing 40 Axial force generating mechanism 41 Electric motor 42 Rotor 45 Worm 46 Worm wheel 47 Spur gear 48 Spur gear 50 Rotation / linear motion conversion mechanism 51 Nut member 52 Female screw 53 Male screw member 54 Male screw 60 Reverse input shut-off clutch (reverse input) Blocking mechanism)

Claims (4)

A flywheel attached to the shaft end of the crankshaft of the engine, a clutch disk provided at the shaft end of the input shaft of the transmission and disposed opposite to the flyhole, and the clutch disk facing the flywheel A pressure plate that urges the pressure plate, a release bearing provided to be movable relative to the pressure plate, and an axial force generation mechanism that pressurizes and moves the release bearing toward the pressure plate, In an automatic clutch device that presses a pressure plate with a release bearing to release the clutch connection between the flywheel and the clutch disc,
The axial force generation mechanism includes an electric motor and a rotation / linear motion conversion mechanism that converts a rotational motion of a rotor of the electric motor into a linear motion of the release bearing. A mechanism has a cylindrical nut member provided on the input shaft and driven to rotate by the electric motor, and a male screw engaged with a female screw formed on the inner periphery of the nut member on the outer periphery. It consists of a cylindrical male screw member that moves in the axial direction by the rotation of the nut member and presses the release bearing, enabling rotation transmission from the electric motor to the nut member between the electric motor and the nut member, An automatic clutch device comprising a reverse input blocking mechanism for blocking reverse input from a nut member.   The automatic clutch device according to claim 1, wherein the electric motor is disposed orthogonally to the input shaft, and rotation of the rotor of the electric motor is input to the nut member via a worm and a worm wheel.   2. The automatic motor according to claim 1, wherein the electric motor is arranged in parallel with the input shaft, and rotation of the rotor of the electric motor is input to the nut member via a pair of spur gears that mesh with each other. Clutch device.   The said reverse input interruption | blocking mechanism consists of a reverse input interruption | blocking clutch which transmits rotation of the rotor of the said electric motor to the said nut member, and interrupts | blocks the reverse input from the said nut member. Automatic clutch device.

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